It wouldn’t be fall for former Madison resident Amy Syverson if she didn’t spend at least a day or two at the Bayfield Apple Festival, which runs Oct. 7-9 on the shore of Lake Superior.

Syverson, who now lives in Ashland (about 20 miles south of Bayfield) with her husband and two children, has attended at least eight Apple Festivals with her family. She said they start looking forward to the celebration, and especially the parade, in September.

She called the apple jamboree “a unique blend of small-town flavor because we know a lot of people who are in the parade, but it also manages to bring in other elements from farther afield. Bayfield gets thousands of out-of-town visitors, so it has a bigger feeling, too.”

According to the the local visitor bureau, as many as 60,000 people will visit Bayfield during the three-day celebration of all things apple. Though the town attracts lots of tourists in the summer and fall — many of whom come to see the Apostle Islands — its winter population drops to less than 500 full-time residents.

Syverson said the main parade at 2 p.m. on Oct. 9 attracts dozens of high school marching bands from Wisconsin and Minnesota, as well as the Pipes and Drums band from Thunder Bay in Ontario, Canada.

On Oct. 7, the Bayfield High School Band will perform at 11:30 a.m. on Rittenhouse Ave. The next morning, the Canadian bagpipe band will play a Wakeup Concert at 10 a.m. at the Port Superior Marina, one mile south of Bayfield on Highway 13. The Big Top Chautauqua's Blue Canvas Orchestra will play throughout the weekend on the Grandstand stage.

“The bagpipers definitely add a different twist,” Syverson said. “But what’s really cool about the high school bands is that at the end of the big parade on Sunday, they all loop back around and form one giant marching band.”

The Grand Parade is a highlight of the Bayfield Apple Festival.(Photo: Bayfield Chamber and Visitor Bur)

Syverson said she and her family like to watch the Grand Parade from a hill above the town because it’s not only a good place to see the bands and floats, but it also provides wonderful views of the town, Lake Superior and the Apostle Islands.

“We usually grab apple treats from a stand to munch on while viewing the parade,” she said.

Caramel apples are one of many sweet treats available at the Bayfield Apple Festival.(Photo: Bayfield Chamber and Visitor Bureau)

She said she likes to look at the creations on display from the more than 100 artists and craftspeople and try out foods that are for sale from as many as five dozen orchards and other vendors. She’s especially fond of the cheese products and is also a fan of the Island Noodles offerings, which she said always sets up on the same corner and serves customers from a giant wok.

Whitefish caught from the waters of Lake Superior is also popular, and she recommends eating it blackened.

“We usually order one thing at a time, stroll around the festival and then try something else,” she said.

Though Syverson has long considered it, she said she has never entered the pie-baking contest, which is judged on Friday night.

“That’s one of the things that’s on my to-do list, or at least be a judge,” she said.

For youngsters, including her own who are now 14 and 11, the carnival has always been a big hit, she said.

“The crowds can be really big,” she said. “But there is lots of music in the streets and fun things to see and do. I know some locals leave town for the weekend. But we love it and dive right into the activities.”

The Bayfield Apple Festival is an annual homage to the humble apple, as well as a celebration of the joys of food, traveling and living green.(Photo: Bayfield Chamber and Visitor Bur)

Syverson also recommends that visitors be sure to take a ferry ride out to the Apostles during the festival.

“I haven’t done it, but the view of the festival from the water ought to be outstanding,” she said.

Because of the crowds, Syverson said parking can be what she calls “an adventure.” She recommends going to the paid parking lot at the Bayfield School on N. Fourth St. It’s only a few blocks from downtown and all the money goes to the school’s music programs, she said.

There are also free shuttles all three days from the Legendary Waters Resort & Casino, 37600 Onigamiing Drive, Red Cliff (four miles north of Bayfield); and on Saturday and Sunday from Hauser's Superior View Farm, 86565 County Highway J, Bayfield; and Bayfield Winery, 6565 County Highway J, Bayfield (both about two miles northwest of town).

Syverson said she also likes watching the Apple Festival Queen Procession, which begins at 6:45 p.m. Saturday at the Old Rittenhouse Inn, 301 Rittenhouse Ave., and is followed by the coronation of the king and queen.

“One of the best things about the whole festival is its quirkiness,” she said. “Bayfield is a small town way up in northern Wisconsin and it attracts a lot of artists and people who love theater. Those elements really come out in the parade.

“One example is a group called the Apple Corps who wear, of course, apple core costumes and dance to the Dixieland jazz band that follows them down the street.”

If Bayfield’s crowds become overwhelming, she suggests taking a drive out to one of the region’s apple orchards. Or strolling along the easy Brownstone Trail, which starts at a kiosk near Maggie’s Restaurant, 257 Manypenny Ave., and runs along an old rail line on cliffs above Lake Superior for 2.5 miles.

More information: Contact the Bayfield Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Bureau at (715) 779-3335 or see bayfield.org.

Getting there: Bayfield is 370 miles northwest of Milwaukee via I-41 and Highway 51 and 2.